Bob Arum is not entirely convinced that Tyson Fury will hang up the gloves after his fight with Dillian Whyte, not when the prospect of making incredible money against a big-name opponent still looms.
In a press conference earlier this month to promote his April 23 fight against Whyte, a mandatory challenger, WBC titleholder Fury declared that it would be his last professional bout, citing the gargantuan sums of money he has already made and the projects he wants to pursue in his post-boxing life. Fury-Whyte is set to take place at Wembley Stadium in London.
“Why do I have to be one of those people who went on too long and got injured?” Fury told BT Sport. “Just had one too many fights and blew it all for what? A few more quid?
“I want to retire on top – unbeaten heavyweight champion of the world. I want to do a Netflix documentary, a Hollywood movie, and be a good husband, father and son.”
Co-promoter Bob Arum, however, thinks Fury won’t be so quick to leave the sport so long as tempting offers come his way. Arum pointed out that a potential bout against either London’s Anthony Joshua or Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk, who currently owns the three other heavyweight belts, would garner significant attention – and big bucks.
“Well [Fury] can say things, and he says them sincerely, and he believes them for the moment, but you know he’s not signing a contract that it’s his last fight, you know what I mean?” Arum told FightHubTV. “I think on second thought, when he sees what’s out there, like maybe a Joshua fight or an Usyk fight, he might stick around.”
Arum, though, made it clear that barring a top name (like Joshua) Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) probably would not be motivated to return to the sport after his clash with Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs) on April 23. The 33-year-old Fury is coming off of a stretch in which he twice defeated American puncher Deontay Wilder by stoppage (7th round TKO in 2020, 11th-round KO in 2021).
“He’s not going to stick around to fight a secondary opponent,” Arum said of his client. “If there’s another big fight out there for him to fight he will in my opinion, without question, take that fight. Again, if there isn’t, he’s not looking to spend time training and so forth to do a secondary fight because at this point he has plenty of money. He wants to enjoy life with his family, his wife, and he has six kids.”